As a follow-up to my previous post, I want to ask for your help.
The Lord has blessed me by placing me in an office whose job it is to promote what God is doing in people's lives around the world. One of our recent assignments was to create promotional resources for an offering that will help send missionaries to unreached people groups all over the world. It will also help keep many missionaries on the field.
The International Mission Board (IMB) is one of the largest missionary sending agencies in the world. The only way it is able to send missionaries is through the giving of Christians like you and me.
At Christmas time every year, an offering called the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering is taken up in churches across America. Last year, that offering fell $30 million short. This shortfall has resulted in the suspension of critical missionary endeavors and the reduction of full-time missionaries they can send. There are missionaries who are called by God, trained and ready to go, but the funding is not there to send them.
The "Christmas in August" offering is a grassroots movement to make up at least a portion of the $30 million. It's simply a call for people to give whatever they can during August to make it possible for more missionaries to bring the Gospel to people all over the world.
You can visit www.swbts.edu/christmasinaugust for more details. The video above is available for free on the site so anyone can download it and use it in their churches, on their web site, or to send out as an e-mail. There are also other free resources available on the site and instructions on how you can give.
We have a critical mission, and it will take all of us to make it a success. For those willing to help I would ask that you consider which of the following would be appropriate for you:
1. Contact your pastor and ask him to raise an offering at the church during August.
2. Make sure the Mission’s Committee at your local church knows about the effort.
3. Send an e-mail to all of your friends making sure they know about the offering and the available resources.
4. Download the video and post it on your church’s website, your personal website, or anywhere else you can to raise awareness.
5. Pray that God would use this to heighten awareness of our missionary endeavors bringing unity and revival.
6. Skip lunch one Sunday after church to pray and fast. Then give the money you would have spent to the Christmas in August offering.
7. Give whatever God lays on your heart to support our missionary endeavors.
Romans 10:14-15
14How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15And how are they to preach unless they are sent?
